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The Five Factor Model has taken various forms over the years but has more recently taken the form of the OCEAN model of McCrae and Costa and the Big Five model of Goldberg Both of these models although derived from different methodologies are an attempt to explain human behaviour using traits There has been much debate as to whether these conceptual models do in fact explain behaviour or whether they are just descriptive of behaviour Carr and Kingsbury 1938 defined trait as a conceptual attribute or definition of the reactive nature of an individual where the nature of an individual is defined on the basis of certain observable behaviour characteristicswhich society regards as of sufficient importance to identify and name andwhich are regarded as expressions or manifestations of the constitutional nature of the individual They regarded traits as conceptual realities akin to engrams nerve traces and neural modifications which cannot be observed other than through their behaviour manifestations Johnson further defined traits as consistent patterns of thoughts feelings or actions that distinguish people from one another He justified the study of traits in personality on the basis that science requires the studying of consistencies McCrae and Costa 1990 similarly define traits as dimensions of individual differences in tendencies to show consistent patterns of thoughts feelings and actions but also used it in the broader context to refer to a property of an individual that accounts for his or her placement along this trait dimension Other psychologists feel that traits are patterns of behaviour eg Buss and Craik 1983 Mischel and Shoda 1994 On a more sophisticated level Alston 1975 regarded traits as dispositions to respond to certain stimuli with certain responses A further distinction has been made between two levels of traits one relating to patterns of behaviour and experience outer traits and the other to the underlying causes of behaviour inner traits These have variously been referred to as surface and source

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